GIRLS BASKETBALL: Eisenhard grand as Boyertown tops Owen J. Roberts

BOYERTOWN — Back when Kaitlyn Eisenhard was just a seventh-grader, Jason Bieber could envision something special.

Bieber was her math teacher at the time, and five years later Eisenhard has put up some of the most impressive numbers in Boyertown girls basketball history.

Tuesday night, the 6-foot-1 senior center became just the fifth player in program history to surpass the 1,000-point career mark, scoring 16 as the Bears defeated visiting Owen J. Roberts, 55-37, in their Pioneer Athletic Conference opener.

“I feel very honored to be able to accomplish it,” said Eisenhard, the first Boyertown girls player to reach the milestone since Keri Suydam did it in the 1997-98 season. “It wouldn’t have been possible without all of my teammates from my freshman year all the way to my senior year.”

“She has so much heart and determination,” said senior teammate Kaitlyn DeHaven, who scored a game-high 17 points as the Bears improved to 3-0 overall. “Every time she steps on the floor, you can tell she loves it.”

The daughter of former Boyertown basketball players Matt Eisenhard and Amy Stein, Eisenhard has been a fixture for the Bears’s squad and formidable league presence since day one of her freshman season — when she helped the Bears to the first of two straight PAC-10 crowns.

“We utilized her athleticism when she was a freshman, and she’s just progressed and developed through the years,” Bieber said. “Besides her obvious basketball skill, I think the most important thing is the maturity level she’s bringing into her senior year.

“When you see her out there tonight, knowing she’s only a few points away (from 1,000) and she wasn’t looking to score because she wanted to help the team be successful first ... that says a lot about her.”

Eisenhard opened the game’s scoring with a three-point play 33 seconds into the contest, but was content to let the scoring come to her while helping the Bears seize command.

DeHaven’s three-point play capped a 9-1 run that put Boyertown up 12-3 with 3:19 left in the first quarter.

Owen J. Roberts (1-2) wound up missing its first nine shots before Taylor Evans connected to cut it to 22-9 with 4:28 left in the first half.

“We didn’t play well the entire first quarter,” said Wildcats coach Jeremy Mellon, whose team went just 16-for-36 from the foul line. “When you miss that many foul shots and don’t play defense well, you’re not going to beat anyone.”

Especially a squad with a player the caliber of Eisenhard, a three-time Mercury All-Area and All-PAC 10 first team selection.

Eisenhard began to take over in the second quarter, knocking down two foul shots with 6:17 left and then going to the line with a little more than three minutes left in the half two points shy of the barrier. She swished the first shot, but missed the second as the crowd exhaled.

Finally, at 1:58 before intermission, Eisenhard took a pass from DeHaven at on the right wing, barrelled to the basket and connected to send the crowd into celebration mode.

The game was stopped briefly to recognize Eisenhard, who was presented the ball by Bieber as her parents came out by her side. Eisenhard also made it a point to thank injured teammate Brooke Mullen, her running mate over the past three seasons.

“This was goal of mine since my freshman year,” Eisenhard said. “What made it emotional was seeing Brooke there, because she was one girl that definitely made this possible for me.”

Eisenhard wound up grabbing 13 rebounds, blocking three shots and dishing out three assists, while also knocking down a 3-pointer.

“She does a great job on their perimeter,” Mellon said. “She moves around well without the ball, and she does a great job at the foul line, so you can’t put her there. She’s obviously earned that accomplishment.”

Eisenhard has also earned the respect of teammates, opponents and fans along the way.

“She’s an especially good leader this year,” DeHaven said. “She has so much experience, and she knows what to do in certain situations. We have a lot of young girls who don’t have a lot of experience, and she’s really good at telling them where to be and helping us focus. She knows how to deal with the pressure of situations a lot better than most of us.”

And she has her priorities in order as well, according to Bieber.

“She could have easily looked to get those points first, but she looked for the team to be successful first,” Bieber said. “The one thing she said going into tonight was that she didn’t want any attention put on her, she just wanted to go out and make sure we play well.”

Eisenhard did that and a whole lot more in an effort that was simply grand.

NOTES

Sophomore Nikki Testa led Owen J. Roberts with 12 points, while senior Caroline DeAngelo had eight points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats. ... Olivia Cavallo scored nine points for the Bears, who play host to defending PAC-10 champ Spring-Ford on Thursday.